Winter seemed to hang around especially stubbornly this year, but in the last week leaves have suddenly begun to emerge on trees, the grass seems to have sprung up another inch every morning, and the seeds we planted are all sprouting happily in the garden. With so much new plant growth, it’s the perfect time to dive in to some basic botany exploration, and the 6 books I’ve selected this month offer a perfect framework for doing just that.

The official start of spring may be in March, but around here it's often in April when things start to really feel "springy." On warm days the birdsong is surprisingly loud, and the trees are filled with busy birds, many of whom are beginning their nesting season. April is also a damp month for us, with frequent rainfalls helping to bring life back to the landscape. The six books I've selected this month focus on the themes of nesting and rainfall and offer a great jumping-off point for springtime exploration and investigation.

If you’re in this field, chances are you’ve heard that question more times than you can count. Whether you’re trying to enroll new students, secure grant funding, convince administrators to get on board, or simply explain what you do at a cocktail party, you need to be armed with information that quickly and clearly conveys the depth of learning that takes place through early childhood outdoor play...

After a long, cold winter, it's always a relief when March rolls around, bringing with it the first signs of spring. There are few things that children love more than the chance to splash in puddles and squelch in the mud that invariably appears in my neck of the wood this time of year. There's something magical and invigorating about seeing life gradually returning to the landscape, and the six books I've selected this month all capture that feeling...

Picture walking into your classroom without a lesson plan. How does it make you feel? Unprepared? Anxious? Are you already envisioning a Lord of the Flies scenario, with total chaos reigning as you cower in the corner? If so, you’re probably not alone...

While it's easy to write off winter as a season where there just isn't that much going on outdoors, I've found the opposite to be true. Though the ground may be frozen and the trees may be bare, the changed landscape offers a fresh perspective for observation of the natural world.

The six books I've selected this month all help foster appreciation for the natural wonder to be found at this time of year...

Since weather is such an integral part of any outdoor learning experience, it's a no-brainer to use it as a jumping off point for deeper exploration and learning. While children will learn plenty simply by being outdoors, introducing a basic weather tracking routine will give them a richer understanding of the world around them and allow for meaningful integration of key math and science skills.

In our neck of the woods we tend to get our first real snows in January, so it's perfect time to pull out books that capture the magic of snowfall from a range of perspectives. I find that the richest learning occurs when students are presented with a combination of fact and fiction, helping deepen their naturalist knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts while also providing fodder for creative exploration and thematic dramatic play. These six books do just that...

This approach has quickly become a favorite part of the day for my preschool students, and now that I’ve seen the incredible impact of this practice I’m convinced that it should be a part of all early childhood programs.

Not convinced yet? Here are eight reasons to try whole-group journaling with your early childhood students…

This spring while attending the incredible 2017 Children & Nature Network International Conference in Vancouver, BC I had the opportunity to hear from a number of outdoor educators who work in park or nature-preserve settings. Over and over, the same dilemma came up: how to protect and preserve natural places while still creating space for children to play and explore.

When you spend a year with the same group of students, it's easy to loose sight of how far they've come. That all changed this past spring when I launched an afternoon nature club for children not already enrolled in my Nature School program.

Since launching my own nature-based preschool program, my understanding of imaginative play has evolved dramatically. Within minutes of getting outside each morning, children as young as three become engaged in tasks of their own choosing and remain deeply focused for extended lengths of time with no outside prompting.